A little humility is good for my soul

The book club I attend has gotten huge, so big that it's hard finding a place to sit AND there's usually not just one discussion going but several at a time.  We decided to try hosting the same book on two different nights to break it up a little.  A friend beat me to the punch and wanted to host The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  I adore this book!  I was happy to take the hosting night that was left.

So I got things ready to go today (a very minimal amount of preparation, in all honesty) and waited for the doorbell to ring.  The entire night I had two friends show--Melissa, who was excited to get out of the house after being super sick for a few weeks, and Kiahna, who had been to the PACKED Tuesday discussion and dropped by to give us the juicy details.  The three of us had fun discussing the book, and then after Kiahna left, I sat and talked with Melissa for over an hour and a half.  It was so relaxing and fun to get to know her better and talk about all kinds of things.  I wasn't upset AT ALL that more people didn't show.  Instead I felt like I'd been given a gift, the gift of Melissa!

Turn off that spotlight, please!

It's official, folks.  I'm that annoying, loud, obnoxious mom at the baseball fields who just won't be quiet.  The really embarrassing thing is that I didn't know it until Wade's coach told me that this little pow-wow on the field between the coaches and the umpire during the game last night was all about yours truly.

Apparently a coach on the other team didn't think I should be in the dugout, that the official team mom and coaches were the only ones allowed in the dugout with the boys.  Maybe the guy didn't know that I had been asked to be in there to help the team mom who was going through cancer treatments.  Or that, yes, I had actually paid the extra $5 for the parent volunteer background check when I signed Wade up to play.  And no one said it, but I felt immediately that if I hadn't been whooping and hollering with the boys and drawn attention to myself that the spotlight wouldn't have happened in the first place.

An official guy with the league came and asked me some questions and I was cleared to be in the dugout for that game until they got some answers back, but I was deflated for the rest of the game and mortified.  But even then, I couldn't help clapping and shouting a little encouragement to the boys on our team.  I just get so into it and can't help myself!  Thankfully the boys won the game, in spite of me!

Death Valley camping trip

Spring Break started out with lots of rain and wind, so chances of a much-anticipated family camping trip were looking slim.  Jason and I were checking the weather forecasts often and keeping our fingers crossed.  On Thursday we got everything together for camping, hopeful that our wishful thinking would work!  We decided to go for it on Friday and were blessed with fantastic weather most of the trip!

Our first stop was to Scotty's Castle in the far northern section of Death Valley.  You can read more about it at this link:  Scotty's Castle in Death Valley.  Basically it's this amazing, totally random mansion built in the 1920's with a lot of history and mystery behind it.  We took a tour with one of the in-character park rangers and really enjoyed it.

Next stop was to the Ubehebe Crater.  The picture I took doesn't really capture how huge it is.  Jason was hoping we could hike around the entire thing, but Rhiannon and I chickened out.  Wade and Jason loved it, but Rhiannon said it was the scariest thing she'd ever done in her life, especially with some strong winds blowing.  She preferred to call it the Heebie-Jeebies crater, ha-ha!  :)  Maybe we'll give it a try another time--I'll need to be in better shape with some good hiking shoes and more gumption!

Here's more on the crater:  Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley

In the early evening we found one of the few tent sites left in Stovepipe Wells.  It's a good thing we got there when we did because people were driving through all night trying to find spots.  Maybe the fact that it was Friday night had something to do with it, too...  We were surrounded by very nice people to the left and right of us, but the young adults a few tents down were obnoxious--their "party" started at 10pm and went til who knows how long.

Our favorite things were collecting rocks, playing hide-and-seek, cooking s'mores and roasting Star Burst candies, telling stories, and using the awesome Coleman Roadtrip Grill that Jason got for us--it was great!  

Even with the loud neighbors, crowds, and lack of sleep, we all agreed that we had a wonderful time.  Hopefully we won't wait another 4 years to go on our next campout!



Giddy

Yesterday was a good day.  The kids invited 4 friends over first thing in the morning and had 2 hours of non-stop activity and fun chasing each other outside, making crafts, and playing Wii.  Then we met Dad for lunch at Golden Dragon (yum) and later worked on some projects in the back yard together.  Jason tackled the out-of-control grapevine that had grown up into the top of the porch, while the rest of us cleaned up that aftermath and raked leaves or cleaned out the area under the roses.  The porch area looked so great when it was all done, and we had good timing, too, because it rained for a few hours later.

We had a pretty good dinner that night (translation:  I took more than 15 minutes to prepare it) of scallopped potatoes with big chunks of ham, steamed broccoli, canned peaches, and some homemade dinner rolls that were fabulous, if I do say so myself.  I have lots of good roll recipes, but I'm usually not successful with them.  I used the following recipe off of Deals to Meals, and it makes me giddy thinking about how easy it was to make these rolls and still have them come out tasty!


30 Minute Rolls

1 1/8 c. + 2 t. warm water

1/3 c. oil

2 T. yeast

1/4 c. sugar or honey

1/2 t. salt

1 egg

3 1/2 c. flour

Mix 1st 4 ingredients and let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt and eggs - gradually add flour. Shape into dinner rolls, or use in your favorite recipe that calls for dough. After shaped, let rest for 10 minutes. For rolls,  bake 10 minutes @ 400 degrees until golden brown.   Makes 12 rolls.


*Recipe from Real Mom Kitchen

We are keeping our fingers crossed for some decent weather so that we can camp over in Death Valley for a night.  If that doesn't pan out, it will still be fun having Dad home for the rest of the week to spend time with us!

One more random thing:  the kids and I watched some Shaun the Sheep episodes on Netflix last night.  They were hilarious, sweet, and fun!  We're in love...

 

Harmony

Harmony is....

having a 6th grader, a 5th grader, a 4th grader, a 3rd grader, a 2nd grader, and a 1st grader running around outside playing, er, excuse me, creating some intense game of their own and getting along while doing it.

That's harmony, and happiness!

$60 experiment

Our 2011 "experiment" is finally in!  Rhiannon and Wade were wonderful garden helpers!  They enjoyed making the row markers and planted most of the seeds. 

This year we've got three things going for us--we planted a whole two months earlier than we did last year, we "reclaimed" the soil a bit with grass clippings and some super nice Miracle Gro "garden soil," and we said a prayer for its success when we finished! 

We learn something new each time we plant a garden and try to go into it with a "this is an experiment" mentality, but I really do hope this one will take off.  (I miss our 2006 extravaganza that was a dream of a harvest!)  This year we planted 4 early-girl tomato plants and then two rows each of zucchini, cilantro, radishes, snap peas, and green onions. 





We also planted some marigolds and a strawberry plant near the grapevine and roses,
just for good luck. :)





Family soccer game

Last night for our family home evening "activity," Wade wanted to have a family soccer game out in the backyard, "girls against boys."  We had a blast.  Rhiannon was very gracious about having lame duck Mom on her team--we got creamed by the boys about 100 to 3. I'm very grateful that the kids can learn about competition and playing hard from their dad, because their mom doesn't seem to have a single competitive bone in her body.  (I did try, I just wasn't very successful making goals!)  Wade was the MVP of the night, taking a hard-kicked ball to both the face and the stomach, and not crying about it. 

Thanks for the good idea, Wade!  We had fun and got a little exercise, too!

Monday drama

An interesting start to our official week of Spring Break...

Monday

7:45am
Wade's request--we watch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  (No, I don't usually let the kids watch movies this early in the day, but it's Spring Break, ya know?)

 

He DVRed  the movie several weeks ago and we hadn't watched it yet.  He was very insistent that Rhiannon come watch it with us instead of playing on the computer.  We had some muffins and a bit of cereal for breakfast while we watched it.  (Not a bad movie the second time around--the first time we watched it, I thought it was ridiculous.  Indie and space aliens???  Really?)

9:45am

Movie is over.  We make a few plans for the week, and then Rhiannon and Wade start arguing back and forth over what to do next while we fold a bit of laundry together.  Rhiannon's right, it is her turn to pick, but she doesn't know what she wants to do yet, other than Wade has to participate and whatever they do has to be as long as the Indiana Jones movie was.  Wade gets cranky, and Mom gets REALLY cranky, saying that her Spring Break plans do not include kids fighting and being bratty.   Can they hear themselves and what they're saying?  Kids settle down.  Mom wonders if Wade is sick--besides the obvious miserable-looking pink eye he woke up with, he just seems "off" and irritable over small things.

10:00am

That's a little better.  They play their DS games together for a few minutes until they're distracted by Mom making noises in the bathroom.  Mom says, "Hey, come look at this!"  Kaboom bathroom cleaner is kinda cool!  You wipe it off when it turns white.

10:35am

Kids are doing some Warriors Cats thing, pretending they're characters and having a good time.  Mom jumps in for a moment when Rhiannon can't hear Wade yelling for her over and over again upstairs.  Mom blogs to capture this weird start to the day.

10:38am

Kids ask for snacks.  "Of course, as long as it's not jelly beans or pretzel M&Ms."  Their plan is to put the food in bowls like cat food or something.

10:45am

Time to check on laundry.  There is quite the mountain of it from the weekend.

That's it for now.  The rest of the day will include more laundry and a trip to



for garden supplies!  That's the big project for tomorrow, along with going to the library and maybe seeing



The caption for that made me laugh out loud:  "Mom needs a little space."  I certainly did earlier this morning!  I'm hopeful that the kids will earn the right to a movie treat, though.  Happy Spring Break!

Fabulous

I was thinking of my nephew Sam this morning when I watched this video.  It was on a substitute teaching blog called "The Bus Stop" by Utah State University that I check frequently for feel-good stuff and good teaching ideas.  Enjoy!!!

A gift

Our favorite UVU grads came for a visit this weekend!  We were so excited to have Derrick, Traci, Max, and Maggie here for their Spring Break (and the start of ours).  They spent a day at Huntington Beach, a day at Disneyland, and then they came up to see us for a day and a half!  We managed to pack a lot in going to thrift stores, eating, hot tubbing, watching movies/playing Playstation and Wii, getting pedicures, and playing some soccer outside!

Wade, Rhiannon, and Max hanging out!



Say cheese!  Magnolia was a little doll!




Getting their "Just Dance" on!



Hot tubbing!  It was pretty cold outside while they were here, but the hot tub felt good!

You guys are so brave!

Rhiannon, Traci, and I got pedicures at the Nails Spa here in town.  It was AWESOME! 
We felt like a million bucks afterwards!!!!

The sign of a good vacation!  Max zonked out during "The Sorceror's Apprentice"!

LOVE YOU GUYS!

On Saturday afternoon I was alone in the house with Maggie while Derrick and Traci took the other kids on some errands and Jason went to WalMart.  As I sat in the recliner feeding Maggie a bottle in the super-quiet house, I was overwhelmed with the gift Derrick and Traci had given us with their visit to Ridgecrest.   Unfortunately we don't get to see our extended family as much as we'd like to, and the fact that I got the chance to hold my four-month-old niece and watch my energetic three-year-old nephew, or catch up and spend time with my brother and sister-in-law, well, it suddenly became very precious to me.  Thanks so much for making it up here, D, T, M, & M, and best wishes with these next few crazy months!  WE LOVE YOU!

Squeaky

 
I could feel my voice going when I woke up on Wednesday morning.  That day I subbed in a 4th grade class full of drama, and even though I wasn't yelling, all the talk-talk-talking I did for 6 hours put the last nail in my coffin, so to speak  (ha-ha!).   Oh, cheering (screaming) at Wade's baseball game that night might have "helped," too. 

Yesterday I didn't have to talk much, which was nice.  I did yard work, cleaned up the house, and rested, but if I had to speak it came out all sQuEaKy.  It hurt to yell, too, so if the kids were upstairs and I was down, I'd bang on the piano to get their attention.  I probably should have just walked upstairs, now that I think of it. :) 

The kids have been super sweet about it, offering to say the prayers, rubbing my back, and expressing sympathy.  At breakfast this morning my voice kept coming in and out and I just started laughing, a big, annoying, squeaky laugh, but it felt good to do it!  This squeakiness is pretty inconvenient, but it's also really funny!

On a different note, DERRICK, TRACI, MAX, and MAGGIE will be here this afternoon!  We can't wait!!!

A hint of fun to come

We had four young friends over this afternoon for some "hang-out" time with Rhiannon and Wade.  (We do NOT use the words "come over and PLAY" or "have a PLAYDATE" anymore, which apparently is social suicide and another sign of kids growing up!)  What a blast.  They ate lots of cookies, got in the hot tub, played some games, and laughed/chased each other/laughed/chased each other some more.  Time went by pretty quickly!

Good kids, good times!  It was a big hint of more fun to come, especially when we get the pool opened up in a couple months!

High and Low

Jason and I had a great time on our group date tonight with five other couples.  First we got treated to homemade, d-licious calzones, pizza, breadsticks, and dessert at the Tonks' home, and then we all went to the bowling alley on base and played a game.  It's a small building, but it's CLEAN and doesn't smell like smoke--yay!  Jason bowled the highest score at 142, and, um, I got the lowest score, a 62.  (My score would have been a little better if I hadn't fouled twice--that stunk!)

Date nights rock!!!  I love my hubby!  I love fun friends!

Cue the music

The book fair is at our school this week!  Rhiannon and Wade love it, and they use their own saved up money to buy books....

(Conversation as we were walking to the van after school)

Wade:  There was this cool Lego Star Wars dictionary that I wanted to get.

Mom:  How much was it?

Wade:  The lady said that it was $21.  (He slumps over and puts on a sad face.)  I only brought 10 dollars.  But then!

(Wade gets this big grin on his face and starts singing the Indiana Jones theme song really loud...)

Wade:  There it was!  An Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull book!!!!

Mom:  (smiling) And how much was that one?

Wade:  7 dollars!  I got it and sat down at recess to read it, almost 60 pages worth!


I laughed and laughed over that, and Wade had fun recreating the scene for Dad at dinner time, too.  Rhiannon bought 3 books and said she'd read almost 70 pages in one at school today.  Love, love, love books!

Catch-up

It's very windy this morning--perfect weather for staying indoors and getting important things done, like updating the blog!  :) 

Rhiannon:

--Has been sick for over a month.  After two doctor's visits last month and a 10-day run of antibiotics, she is still congested and has a crazy cough.  Allergies?  Cold?  Right now we're dealing with it a day at a time.  I keep hoping that she'll wake up one morning like it never happened.

--Took away a LOT of awards at last month's school assembly for reading and math.  The big one was finishing all of the 5th grade math objectives in the Accelerated Math program.

--Missed the "Growth and Development" videos at school because she was home sick, so instead she got to watch them with me at home over a big bowl of popcorn.  That's the way to go! :)

--Participated in an ensemble recital with the music teacher's association here in town.  She played "Babbling Bears" with her friend Elise, and they both did a great job!



Rhiannon with Elise

With her teacher Melanie McDonald, a wonderful, kind teacher!

Wade:

Hippie Wade in his cool tie-dye shirt!

--has been to a lot of baseball practices lately!  He had a 2-hour one last weekend!  He told me this morning that he was worried about the scrimmage scheduled for today, saying, "You have to actually get people out, Mom!"  Yep, it's a lot more intense than t-ball.  I tried to help him by saying that he just needed to try his best, listen to his coaches, and have fun! 

--is quite the party animal.  He's had fun at some birthday parties recently for kids in his Primary class and had a great time!

--has lost 4 teeth so far.

--still loves Encyclopedia Brown books, and has been reading the Alex Ryder books (teenage 007-type books).

--LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Indiana Jones right now.  We lined up the movies in our Netflix list and have enjoyed the first 2 so far.  (He quotes the Sandlot movie a ton, too, and laughs hard at all the funny parts in that movie!)

Jason:

--tore out the rest of the reeds around the front pond outside.  This was a big job and should make maintenance much easier there! 

--work has been very stressful lately, but he's managing!  He hopes to move into a new building this week.  Last week he was in Nevada, this week he's home, and next week he'll be in D.C.

--has taken me and the kids out with him for "target practice" with some guns south of town a couple times so far this year.  He is very patient with us, and it's been a good learning experience.  My hands weren't quite as shaky last time. :)

--for all the ups and downs that he deals with, I think he really enjoys working with the youth in our ward as Young Men president, and he's good at it!  Right now he and the other leaders are focusing on teaching about the importance of an education with some cool activities and presentations.  (Ask him about it!)

Me?  Well, I'm the home manager and taxi driver.  I'm trying to exercise more.  Sub jobs have been infrequent, and that's okay!  I finally pulled weeds out in the yard this weekend and made a good dent in them, even though there's still lots more.  Primary is going well.  And, yes, I still try to sneak in a Psych episode here and there for my "put-your-feet-up" time!

On Saturday we got some much needed Howard-and-Sandi-time in.  Sandi invited the kids over to make green tie-dye shirts for St. Patrick's Day, and it was cool!  The shirts look gray in the picture, but really it's a nice dark green color.

Thanks, Sandi, for that fun project!!!! 

  



 

'Tude and teen time

Our kids are getting older, and they're getting more 'tude, or attitude.  On a normal scale, compared to other kids their age, I know my idea of "attitude" in my own kids is laughable.  I've seen some particularly rude talk from kids to their parents, and the things they say are so obnoxious I want to run and hide!  Rhiannon and Wade are really great kids--we love them!  But their behavior has been different lately, like getting certain looks/facial expressions from Rhiannon or when Wade gets absurdly cranky about a simple request.  And sometimes instead of lovingly pointing out the bizarre behavior, I get a little 'tude of my own.  It's a cycle that needs to STOP.

I'm well aware that hormones can be a big cause, so whenever Rhiannon just seems totally wacky, I remind her about how hormones twist a person's perspective and make things seem worse than they are.  Sometimes I'll just whisper the word "Hormones!" and she smiles and relaxes.  The solution for Wade has been quiet time in his room and then a sit-down with him to describe the inappropriate behavior, why it's not nice, what to do next time, etc. 

This is only the beginning, but hopefully Jason and I will handle this fast-approaching teen time with grace, love, and patience....so that our kids will still like us when it's all over and be better human beings because of it!  I'm sorry to my own awesome parents for any 'tude I displayed growing up, too!  I guess all of this is fresh on my mind because of all the talks on courage at church on Sunday, especially a review on the fabulous talk from October's Conference called

Courageous Parenting (click on the link to open up the text)

It's amazing!